- How are you?
- Total calm, continuous calm.
A similar answer to a fairly standard question of a comrade who met after some separation can indicate both calmness and that there are considerable problems. So what is calm, and why is this marine term used to describe often quite land situations?
Sea calm
This word came to us, most likely from Holland. It was there that Peter the Great studied naval rules and terms. In German, it sounds the same and means the same thing, that is, the complete absence of wind.
Is this good for sailors or bad? Now, in the age of powerful motors, it may seem to someone that such a state of the ocean, sea, river or lake contributes to a good trip. But sailing is impossible to sail. In addition, a lull usually portends a storm. Therefore, a sailor is most liked when a gentle, weak, moderate or fresh wind blows. You can learn about the details of the gradation by reading the Beaufort scale.
What is Beaufort calm?
There is a way to determine the class of waves of the water surface, which allows to objectively assess the degree of its danger. Of course, “by eye” it can be difficult for an inexperienced sailor to do this, but visible signs provide some help in this matter. There are also quite tangible physical parameters to be measured by instruments. For example, if the wind is completely absent.
